August 15, 2011

Literacy and charity are both getting a boost from a couple of businesses with more than profit on their mind. Better World Books just announced an initiative called "Book for Book." The idea is simple - every time you buy a book from Better World's website, the company will donate another book to either Feed the Children or Books for Africa.

According to Andy Perlmutter, CEO of Better World Books, the initiative was inspired by Toms Shoes' "One for One" program, which takes a similar approach with shoes. Supporting the cause of literacy is nothing new for Better World: the company has raised nearly $10 million for literacy and libraries.

Meanwhile, a company called Givmo, located in NYC, is putting a new spin on the concept of giving away unwanted things so that others can make use of them. Sites like Freecycle already let people give away what they're not using, but Givmo adds a charitable twist: for every item that's given away, Givmo pays $1 to their featured charity (the World Wildlife Fund at the time of writing). It's free, it keeps unwanted stuff out of landfills, and it helps a good cause. The only downside - it's not in Canada yet.